What They Never Tell You About Moving Abroad
An expat’s guide to moving to a new country — the bureaucratic struggles that no one talks about
As a kid growing up in India, I found the stories of family and friends living abroad rather fascinating. I aspired to experience something similar when I grew up. In my mind, it always felt that moving abroad to a new country should be a very smooth process and would be all smiles and hunky-dory all along. This assumption was further corroborated by the happy pictures I encountered on social media of my friends living abroad. I assumed it would be a hassle free task. Just pick up your bags, carry your passport and you are good to go!
I have been fortunate enough to realize the dreams I harbored as a child. In the past 8 years, I have lived and worked in five different cities across three different countries. While the experiences have been fulfilling and turned me into a fiercely independent woman, I have had my fair share of days when the struggle was real. Unfortunately, it is only the happy moments that make it to Instagram and the real sweat and tears always get left behind. I realize now that it perhaps was not so easy after all for all the friends and relatives who built a life for themselves in a different city or country. So, now when I look at the pictures of my friends who just moved to a new city or country posing happily in front of a beautiful and exotic backdrop, I know what possibly they might also have gone through and can empathize.
Do not get me wrong! The final result is every bit worth the struggle and the difficult days and it forms a crucial part of the journey and makes it all the more beautiful. Having said that, it does help to be prepared to the best of your abilities before uprooting yourself from your old life and moving on to something new. I made several mistakes, took things for granted and had quite a few assumptions about the process which were shattered along the process and now when I think back it would have been nice to have a checklist handy. Hence, I thought it would be worth sharing a couple of things that one can keep in mind when making the move and what to expect in the initial couple of months so as to not be caught off-guard.
Every country has its own set of procedures and laws for expats and students and while it is not possible to cover all of them here, these are a few things that I learnt from my experience of moving from India to Europe (can pretty much apply to any country in the EU with minor changes). So here goes, better late than never!
P.S : These are tips for people moving abroad for a longer and a more permanent duration. These tips might not be relevant to short duration travelers who are looking to travel for less than 90 days.
The real prep begins much before you actually “move”: You probably landed that dream job or got accepted at the university you always wanted to study. What next? The real work begins now. The first thought would be to secure a visa. But there is something which comes even before that. It is securing a visa appointment. Visa appointments are not easy to come by, especially for countries like Germany where the wait is longer when compared to other European countries. It becomes even more important when you are on a deadline — to start the job or the university.
In India, VFS Global provides visa solutions for several countries but when the duration of stay is longer, ie. more than 90 days (also called D-Type visa), the appointments usually have to be made through the respective embassies in India. So, the first step is to write to the embassy seeking an appointment as soon as possible.
Getting the documents in order : Now that securing a visa appointment is out of the way, next step is to prepare the documents. It is generally a boilerplate list of documents typically available on the embassy website viz. suitable photo, education documents, work contract, university acceptance letters, bank statements, proof of accommodation, travel and medical insurance and the likes.
I would strongly recommend that you book yourself a flight for your travel that can be re-scheduled so that you can easily change the dates if the visa decision does not arrive in time (it typically takes 5 weeks — 2 months for the decision to arrive). Proof of accommodation needs to be arranged as well while applying for visa. More on that in the later sections.
Arranging for financial proofs : Financial proofs are one of the most crucial documents and are also one of the most frequent cause for visa refusal. If you are travelling for a job, the work contract that specifies the promised wage should be enough. You may have to show additional funds or should be able to prove enough salary to support your family if they are traveling with you. Please bear in mind that family means spouse and children. Parents are not included (had to be spelled out, because Indians!!).
If going as a student, loan documents, scholarship letters and bank account statements with sufficient balance as specified by the embassies should do (approximated to ~8k euros per year). If you are specifying a family member as a sponsor, a legal affidavit needs to be prepared as a proof and submitted along with the bank statements of the person who is acting as the sponsor.
Getting the accommodation situation abroad sorted : This according to me is the most tricky part. When moving to big cities (Berlin and Budapest in my case), houses are either unavailable or too expensive. This is not to scare or discourage you. It is definitely not easy, but also not impossible. All that you need is patience and perseverance.
I start with students because that is comparatively easy. The universities can provide housing and many do provide the option of dormitories. These may or may not be immediately available. If the dorms are available for immediate boarding as soon as you land, the university will provide you with the required documents which you can present as a proof of accommodation to the embassy. If you do not find a dorm immediately, typically you will be put on a waiting list and you may have to wait between 3 months to up to 1 semester to find a university housing. Until that works out, you may have to find an alternate solution which can be a shared apartment, a hotel or an AirBnb. Also, you do not have to necessarily live in a university dorm. It is just cheaper to live there but you can always find another apartment for yourself and declare that as your residence address.
For a working professional, the option of dorm is out of the way and the only way to go is to find an apartment. Now, searching an apartment remotely from a different country is a near impossible task for mainly two reasons. First, because it always good to see the house for yourself to confirm it’s genuineness before signing a rental contract and second, the house owners prefer it that way themselves. They always like to meet the future tenant in person before signing on the dotted lines and handing over the keys. It makes sense but still doesn’t solve the problem of proof of accommodation. This applies to a student looking for an apartment as well. In such cases — for students and professionals, it is recommended to book an AirBnb or a temporary accommodation between 1–3 months which can be submitted as a proof along with a letter from the university or your employer that they will help find a permanent accommodation after you move abroad.
Show up for the visa appointment : Submit all the prepared documents at the embassy on the day of the appointment and then wait! For Europe, unlike the US, the visa decisions are not conveyed immediately. Typically, for a D-type visa, the embassy sends all the documents to Europe where the foreign office of the respective country assesses the documents and conveys the decision accordingly through the embassy in India. If some document is missing, the embassy would contact you and you can simply e-mail it to them (you would not have to go there physically for follow up documents). It usually takes anywhere between 1–2 months for the decision to arrive and so it is important to secure the visa appointment accordingly so you do not miss the start of your university or keep your employer waiting for too long.
Congratulations! your visa has arrived and you’re all good to go! I would give approximately 3–4 months for the whole process from the day you book your visa appointment to the day you finally travel. I know, it is a long process but it is all worth the wait!
Yay! you have made it to the foreign land and right now you are mostly on your own. As students, you have more help either through the university itself or other bunch of students who would be starting with you. But, as a professional, you basically manage everything on your own. Your employer may or may not support you with the relocation. It is good to get it clarified in advance.
At this point, I would like to point out that the D-type visa you get is basically a permit for you to enter Europe. It’s duration can vary anywhere between 3 months to 1 year. Once you have entered, before that visa expires, you must go to the foreign office and collect your residence permit — “Aufenhaltstitel” in Germany or “Tartózkodási Engedély” in Hungary. This card basically acts as your identity proof and declares that you are a resident of that European country and specifies your student or working professional status. But, hold on! Only if it was as easy as walking into the foreign office to collect your permit, I would probably not be writing this article!
Once you have entered Europe, you must prepare and present the following documents to the officer at the foreign office in order to get your residence permit.
Residence Address Proof : Once in Europe, each individual must declare and register their residence address. This can be done for example at the respective Bürgeramt in Germany or the foreign office in Hungary. Each city has it’s own office and you can set up an appointment from their website (phew! there are queues and waiting list there too!). In return you get a document — Anmeldebestätigung in Germany which basically registers your address and this is the address where all your bank documents, tax documents and such would arrive. In case you change your house, you must do the process again and register the new address against your name and de-register the old address (Abmeldung).
We talked about getting accommodation sorted so as to provide proofs for visa earlier. If you have settled for an AirBnb or a temporary accommodation to furnish the proofs, it can get you the visa but not the residence address registration. This is because to register the address, you must show the contract signed between you and the owner of the house which is not possible for temporary accommodations. The proof of university dorm works but if that is not the case then you will have to find a house where you can get a signed rental agreement between you and the owner.
This is why I earlier mentioned that sorting accommodation is probably the most tedious and jarring task but once done, all the following steps sort themselves out on their own. For a smooth experience, I would recommend using online platforms even before arriving to the new country to conduct thorough research about some properties that you might like to rent. Drop a message or an e-mail to the owner or the renting agency that is managing the property and set up an appointment to personally visit and check the same as soon as you arrive in the city. I would suggest setting up all the appointments in the first few weeks. Usually 4–5 house visits are enough to finalize a house if you know what you are looking for and have already done your research. Also, do keep in mind that the real estate market is very dynamic and the properties get rented out in matter of days. So, keep that deposit handy and sign the papers as soon as possible!
Telephone number : It always helps to get a local phone number. Prepaid or postpaid, it’s up to you but generally prepaid is cheaper. Also, internet in EU is much more expensive than in India, so pick wisely :). You will need your address proof document to get a sim card, so go back to step 1, if not done already!
Bank account : What do you do without this? The source of your spending and income, probably the most important thing. But, you cannot open a bank account without having a valid address proof. And hence, registering your address should be the first thing you do as soon as you arrive. Delay in that process can lead to delays in the other formalities that follow!
Also, let me break it to you that banking system in India is much better than that in Europe. The banks here still charge you for many things that Indian banks stopped years ago. So, do your research about which bank offers you best service and charges you the least.
With these documents in your hand, along with the typical financial proofs, university documents, offer letter etc, you can go to the foreign office and collect your residence permit and come out to experience the European way of living. Oh yeah, by the way! You also have to book an appointment at the foreign office too. Do that well in advance :)
A tip for managing finances for initial days : Once in a foreign land, you do not have the security of home and family to fall back upon if things get too out of hand. Finding a house and registering a house can be a daunting task and can drain you physically and emotionally in your initial days. It happens to the best of us. And hence, I would recommend that when moving, keep some spare money that can get you through the initial 2–3 months (~3k euros). This could be a steep ask but it can come in handy when paying deposit for your new house and for emergencies before your bank account is set up. Also, do remember that while you have an option of wiring money from home, it can be a tremendously expensive process. While friends can help with smaller amounts, it gets tricky in cases of bigger setbacks.
A small note on my experience
The entire article above is a mish-mash of my own experiences when moving abroad. I moved to Berlin in Oct 2019 as a student. I did not get a student housing until May 2020. Until then I shared an apartment with a couple of other students which we had already looked up earlier before flying in to Germany and set up an appointment for viewing on the same day as we landed. We liked the apartment, signed the contract and got the address registered within the first week as I set up an appointment with the Bürgeramt in advance from India. Following this, I opened a bank account, got a phone number and eventually my residence permit. Smooth? Because I did most of the research and work while in India and booked the necessary appointments way in advance. It was also easier because we were a good and supportive bunch of friends.
Then I moved to Budapest as I took up a new job. The D-type visa for Germany and Hungary works differently. While one can start to work with their visa in Germany and collect their residence permit before it expires, in Hungary, one must collect their permit from the foreign office within 30 days of entering the country. Hence, I was on a deadline here. I had tremendous help from my employer in finding an apartment of my liking, signing the contract, opening bank account and collecting the residence permit. Even then, it took me a month before I could start working because I had to have my residence permit and bank account before I could sign work contract. And that is why I mentioned that it helps to keep extra cash as you cannot always estimate or predict the delays that might result. I was lucky as I had an employer who was supporting me with relocation and also had the option to fall back on some good friends who already live and work in Europe when the need arose. But I realized that the same might not be the case with everyone. While there is enough information online about the bureaucratic process that there is, none really outlines how it happens and in what order. That is what I wanted to convey through this piece. I hope I have done that without deterring the readers (too much!). As I already mentioned, it is tough in the beginning but in the end, all worth it! Do let me know if I missed out anything or if there are some questions left unanswered and I would be happy to address them. Until then, happy reading!
